Sporting held back Atletico’s superstars, despite being down to 10 men for most of the match – and ending the game with 9 players.
Atletico Madrid are a team I dislike, with a manager I dislike even more. And not because of any personal grudge, but because they’re the epitome of the team that plays up their individual players’ technique with total disregard for teamwork. Manager Quique Flores sets up the team in a hybrid between a 4-4-2 and the typically Spanish two-anchor strategy, resulting in a sort of 4-2-4 that’s totally broken in terms of connecting the midfield with the attacking line and the wingers. Sporting set up a team to try to take advantage of this situation, and clearly they were doing it when Grimi managed to see two yellow cards before the half hour mark and get sent off.
But even with one and, later, two men over their opponents, Atletico still couldn’t impose their game and were even close to conceding.
For the second leg Sporting have an obvious psychological advantage, and Quique Flores will have a lot of work ahead of him if his team is to move on to the next stage.
